The mass production era, that involved methodologies of rapid production,
came right after the industrial revolution. In the late 19th century, William Morris had
already started making apparent the harmful effect of the aesthetics of the mass production era.
He tried to re-construct an aesthetic value that could only be created by human hands,
in contrast to the styles that were produced and developed by machines.
But in spite of Morris's "Arts and Crafts" movement, nowadays one can rarely find objects that
are meticulously shaped and crafted by human hands, so that we as audience can
sense the presence of the object's creator emanating from within.

In this drawing series, I would like to release and showcase the power and value of
the aesthetics of nostalgia that could emerge from hand-crafted objects.
Even though a Baroque pipe organ, a Ferrari 360 engine, the module ship of Apollo 13 and
Victorian architecture were all generated in different periods, they all share one thing in common:
hand craftsmanship which acts as an example of the limitless boundary extensions in human society.
By combining these old and modern objects together I wanted to suggest a 'new artefact' I hope that my drawings,
which depict this artefact, can incarnate the beauty which all these hands had tried to achieve through their work.

_judges comment

This drawing series explores the powerful aesthetic of nostalgia that emanates from hand-crafted objects.
By combining these old and modern objects Kwon suggests new, curiously beautiful artefacts which
pay homage to the aesthetic values championed by William Morris as
he railed against mechanical mass production.

The judges thought Kwon's use of superb craftsmanship to create his 'blueprints' for
imaginary objects was very apt, and commented, "The drawings give a history of their making
in the working traces, providing a tension between the solid and the something that does not exist.
They are reminiscent of Leonardo da Vinci's helicopters, designed and drawing hundreds of years before they existed'.